# The French Dispatch
**The French Dispatch** (fully titled *The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun*) is a 2021 American comedy-drama anthology film directed by [Wes Anderson](https://www.edgepedia.org/wes-anderson), and it brings to the screen a set of stories drawn from the last edition of an American magazine based in an imaginary French city of the 20th century.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_french_dispatch) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8847712/) It was Anderson's tenth feature film and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival before its October 2021 theatrical release by [Searchlight Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/searchlight-pictures).[3](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/the-french-dispatch-first-reviews-the-most-wes-anderson-movie-ever-and-its-fantastic/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Directed by Wes Anderson; written by Anderson, Roman Coppola, Hugo Guinness, and Jason Schwartzman[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_french_dispatch) |
| Premise | The staff of an American magazine based in France puts out its last issue, with stories featuring an artist sentenced to life imprisonment, student riots, and a kidnapping resolved by a chef[4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-french-dispatch) |
| Principal cast | Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Stephen Park, Bill Murray, and Owen Wilson[5](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/the-french-dispatch) |
| Release | October 22, 2021 (limited, United States) by Searchlight Pictures; rated R[5](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/the-french-dispatch) |
| Box office | $16,124,375 domestic and $46,333,545 worldwide[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt8847712/) |
| Critical scores | 75% on the Tomatometer from 320 reviews; Metascore 75 from 57 critic reviews[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_french_dispatch) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-french-dispatch/) |
| Recognition | Nominated for 3 BAFTA Awards[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8847712/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and structure
The film is structured as an issue of its titular magazine. The story begins with the death of the magazine's editor, Arthur Howitzer Jr. ([Bill Murray](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-murray)), whose passing inspires recollections of highlights from the publication's history, and the contributors then rush to complete the final edition under the terms of his will.[8](https://theasc.com/article/the-french-dispatch/) • [9](https://www.unibocconi.it/sites/default/files/media/attachments/The-French-dispatch-def.pdf) Each story in the film inserts viewers into one of the magazine's feature essays, disclosing the author's writing style and view of the world.[10](https://clereviewofbooks.com/the-french-dispatch-may-68-essay/)
Three longer features form the core of the issue, each tied to a section of the magazine. "The Concrete Masterpiece" tells of a convicted murderer ([Benicio del Toro](https://www.edgepedia.org/benicio-del-toro)) who becomes a world-famous artist after being inspired by his guard and lover ([Léa Seydoux](https://www.edgepedia.org/lea-seydoux)); the story attracts the attention of an unscrupulous art dealer ([Adrien Brody](https://www.edgepedia.org/adrien-brody)) and a flamboyant critic played by Tilda Swinton.[9](https://www.unibocconi.it/sites/default/files/media/attachments/The-French-dispatch-def.pdf) • [11](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-09/the-french-dispatch-review-wes-anderson-the-new-yorker/100679892) A second story follows a student protest led by a French-speaking Timothée Chalamet, and a third is a profile of the police chief's chef by the food journalist Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright), a character loosely inspired by James Baldwin.[12](https://time.com/7290126/wes-anderson-movies-ranked/) An opening section, in the manner of a light magazine column, has the cycling reporter Herbsaint Sazerac (Owen Wilson) tour the city of Ennui-sur-Blasé by bicycle.[12](https://time.com/7290126/wes-anderson-movies-ranked/) • [13](https://www.newyorker.com/books/double-take/the-new-yorker-writers-and-editors-who-inspired-the-french-dispatch)
The film alternates between French and English and between black-and-white and color, and changes aspect ratio from one narrative time period to another.[14](https://www.lfs.org.au/uploads/general/Vol-43-No1-Jan-2022.pdf) • [15](https://radar.brookes.ac.uk/radar/file/bdb49a90-8592-4544-94df-8a71efff9e77/1/10.1515_csh-2025-0012.pdf)
## The New Yorker connection
The fictional weekly magazine looks an awful lot like, and was in fact inspired by, *The New Yorker*; its staff and the stories it publishes are also drawn from the magazine's history.[16](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/how-wes-anderson-turned-the-new-yorker-into-the-french-dispatch) Anderson, who discovered the magazine in his high-school library in Texas and later collected hundreds of bound copies, has said the film grew from two or three ideas he wanted to combine: an anthology movie in the tradition of [Vittorio De Sica](https://www.edgepedia.org/vittorio-de-sica)'s *The Gold of Naples* and Max Ophüls's *Le Plaisir*, and a long-held wish to make a movie about *The New Yorker*.[16](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/how-wes-anderson-turned-the-new-yorker-into-the-french-dispatch)
Bill Murray's editor Arthur Howitzer Jr. is based on *The New Yorker*'s founding editor, [Harold Ross](https://www.edgepedia.org/harold-ross).[16](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/how-wes-anderson-turned-the-new-yorker-into-the-french-dispatch) Tilda Swinton's art critic is described as an uncanny simulacrum of Rosamond Bernier, and [Frances McDormand](https://www.edgepedia.org/frances-mcdormand)'s journalist Lucinda Krementz draws on [Mavis Gallant](https://www.edgepedia.org/mavis-gallant), known for her reports on the May 1968 protests in Paris, and on Lillian Ross; Anderson even includes word-for-word quotes from Gallant, such as the phrase "touching narcissism of the young."[11](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-09/the-french-dispatch-review-wes-anderson-the-new-yorker/100679892) • [17](https://backoffice.biblio.ugent.be/download/01J5Z0TJDYPTP0E5B9MNS1X4AE/01KC3Z3DN6H8VAFDJ05HPR8EZC) In conjunction with the release, Anderson published *An Editor's Burial*, an anthology of writings that inspired the movie, many originally published in *The New Yorker*.[16](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/how-wes-anderson-turned-the-new-yorker-into-the-french-dispatch)
## Production
All of the filming took place in Angoulême, a small town in the southwest of France; locations included a number of buildings already standing there, while a disused factory was transformed into the prison set for the del Toro segment.[18](https://www.thewrap.com/french-dispatch-production-design-wes-anderson/) Anderson stumbled on the town while traveling around France in June 2018, looking for locations with his regular production designer Adam Stockhausen.[19](https://bfidatadigipres.github.io/new%20releases/2021/10/29/french-dispatch/) Because the film is an anthology of stories in different locations, Stockhausen faced an unusually large range of designs for a single production.[18](https://www.thewrap.com/french-dispatch-production-design-wes-anderson/)
It was the eighth collaboration between Anderson and cinematographer Robert Yeoman, ASC, a creative partnership that began with *Bottle Rocket* in 1996.[8](https://theasc.com/article/the-french-dispatch/) Producer Jeremy Dawson described the practical consequence of the anthology form: every week and a half the crew was shooting a new story.[20](https://qa.sva.edu/features/sva-alumnus-jeremy-dawson-on-the-french-dispatch-his-latest-film-with-director-wes-anderson) The score was composed by [Alexandre Desplat](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexandre-desplat), who spoke of writing "a French score for a film set in" France.[21](https://d2p1nnn035jt22.cloudfront.net/pdf_uploads/shoot_2021_december_editionr.pdf)
## Release and box office
Searchlight Pictures released the film in limited domestic release on October 22, 2021, expanding wide on October 29, 2021.[22](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/French-Dispatch-The-%282021%29) It opened in 52 theaters with a weekend gross of $1,348,804, a per-theater average of $25,939.[22](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/French-Dispatch-The-%282021%29) It expanded to a maximum of 1,225 theaters in its fourth week.[22](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/French-Dispatch-The-%282021%29)
The film grossed $16,124,375 domestically (34.8% of the total) and $30,209,170 internationally, for a worldwide total of $46,333,545.[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt8847712/) The Numbers lists a slightly higher worldwide figure of $47,387,163.[22](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/French-Dispatch-The-%282021%29) Its strongest international markets were European: the United Kingdom ($5,194,282), France ($3,675,320), Italy ($2,444,526), and Germany ($2,374,067).[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt8847712/) [Home video](https://www.edgepedia.org/home-video) followed in December 2021, with estimated domestic disc sales of about $1.2 million.[22](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/French-Dispatch-The-%282021%29)
## Reception
Critical response was generally favorable. Rotten Tomatoes reports a 75% Tomatometer from 320 reviews, with the critics' consensus calling the film "a loving ode to the spirit of journalism" best enjoyed by fans of Anderson's meticulously arranged aesthetic; the audience Popcornmeter stands at 76%.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_french_dispatch) Metacritic gives a Metascore of 75 based on 57 critic reviews, of which 79% were positive, 19% mixed, and 2% negative; its user score is 7.1 from 274 ratings.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-french-dispatch/)
Reviewers singled out both the craft and the density. Sight & Sound's reviewer wrote that poignant moments feel like Anderson evoking a deeper, more personal resonance than a pastiche tribute to great journalists of the past, and the [British Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-film-institute)'s magazine called it "arguably the purest distillation of his singular aesthetics, storytelling and predilections."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_french_dispatch) • [23](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/french-dispatch-wes-anderson-love-letter-journalism) Common criticisms concerned the portmanteau form: MUBI's review noted that it is not as immersive as a single story and that some vignettes are more interesting than others, and Time's critic described "an elaborate movie contraption with a million tiny parts moving in concert" that might be too much depending on the viewer's threshold.[24](https://mubi.com/en/films/the-french-dispatch/critics-reviews) • [25](https://time.com/6108206/french-dispatch-review/) Later assessments have placed it in the middle of Anderson's filmography; Time's 2025 ranking put it eighth, describing it as a love letter to *The New Yorker* that channels the feeling of reading a magazine.[12](https://time.com/7290126/wes-anderson-movies-ranked/)
The film received three BAFTA Award nominations.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8847712/)
## References
1. [The French Dispatch, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_french_dispatch)
2. [The French Dispatch (2021), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8847712/)
3. [The French Dispatch First Reviews: The Most Wes Anderson Movie Ever, and It's Fantastic, Rotten Tomatoes Editorial](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/the-french-dispatch-first-reviews-the-most-wes-anderson-movie-ever-and-its-fantastic/)
4. [The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-french-dispatch)
5. [The French Dispatch, 20th Century Studios](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/the-french-dispatch)
6. [The French Dispatch (2021), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt8847712/)
7. [The French Dispatch Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-french-dispatch/)
8. [The French Dispatch: La Vie Littéraire, American Society of Cinematographers](https://theasc.com/article/the-french-dispatch/)
9. [Movies & Languages Film Festival 2021-2022: The French Dispatch, Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi](https://www.unibocconi.it/sites/default/files/media/attachments/The-French-dispatch-def.pdf)
10. [The Impossibility of Critique: On "The French Dispatch" & May '68, Cleveland Review of Books](https://clereviewofbooks.com/the-french-dispatch-may-68-essay/)
11. [Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch is a poignant tribute to The New Yorker and journalists, ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-09/the-french-dispatch-review-wes-anderson-the-new-yorker/100679892)
12. [Every Wes Anderson Movie, Ranked, Time](https://time.com/7290126/wes-anderson-movies-ranked/)
13. [The New Yorker Writers and Editors Who Inspired "The French Dispatch", The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/books/double-take/the-new-yorker-writers-and-editors-who-inspired-the-french-dispatch)
14. [LFS Vol 43 No 1, January 2022, Lithgow Film Society newsletter](https://www.lfs.org.au/uploads/general/Vol-43-No1-Jan-2022.pdf)
15. [The Reception of Auteurs: Data Mining Reviews of Wes Anderson's Films, Oxford Brookes University](https://radar.brookes.ac.uk/radar/file/bdb49a90-8592-4544-94df-8a71efff9e77/1/10.1515_csh-2025-0012.pdf)
16. [How Wes Anderson Turned The New Yorker Into "The French Dispatch", The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/how-wes-anderson-turned-the-new-yorker-into-the-french-dispatch)
17. [Academic analysis of The French Dispatch characters and journalism tropes, Ghent University Backoffice](https://backoffice.biblio.ugent.be/download/01J5Z0TJDYPTP0E5B9MNS1X4AE/01KC3Z3DN6H8VAFDJ05HPR8EZC)
18. [How 'The French Dispatch' Designer Created Wes Anderson's World, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/french-dispatch-production-design-wes-anderson/)
19. [French Dispatch, BFI Southbank Programme Notes](https://bfidatadigipres.github.io/new%20releases/2021/10/29/french-dispatch/)
20. [SVA Alumnus Jeremy Dawson on 'The French Dispatch', School of Visual Arts](https://qa.sva.edu/features/sva-alumnus-jeremy-dawson-on-the-french-dispatch-his-latest-film-with-director-wes-anderson)
21. [19th Annual awards coverage, Shoot publication, December 2021](https://d2p1nnn035jt22.cloudfront.net/pdf_uploads/shoot_2021_december_editionr.pdf)
22. [The French Dispatch (2021), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/French-Dispatch-The-%282021%29)
23. [The French Dispatch review: love letter to journalism, Sight and Sound, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/french-dispatch-wes-anderson-love-letter-journalism)
24. [The French Dispatch (2021) critic reviews, MUBI](https://mubi.com/en/films/the-french-dispatch/critics-reviews)
25. [With The French Dispatch, Wes Anderson Overindulges on Whimsy, Time](https://time.com/6108206/french-dispatch-review/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2021 to 2022*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license